In comments on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer took turns criticizing the other side for inaction before the impending deadline, adding to the rhetorical heat of the negotiations that for days they have been cold as ice.
“This is a great partnership,” McConnell said mockingly about Schumer and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, the top Democratic negotiator. “The Speaker of the House moves the goalposts while the Democratic leader hides football.”
Schumer, soon after, responded in the Senate with his own side.
“Because Senate Republicans were unable to act together, two weeks have gone down the drain, and three months before that, because Republicans are married to a twisted ideology that the federal government should not help people, even in a time of national emergency, “said Schumer.
Republicans and Democrats lobbied in the Senate for the approval of separate bills: Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, introduced an extension of the federal unemployment improvement at a rate of $ 200 or 66% of past earnings, Schumer he responded with The proposal passed by House Democrats in May.
It was a procedural effort that each party knew was going to fail, and it did.
Unsuccessful efforts on the ground and caustic comments served as the latest example of a negotiation that has never gone off the rails, as it never was. Republicans in the Senate, after days behind schedule, submitted their own set of proposals on Monday, only to have many at the conference oppose some, or all, of them. Also on that ship: President Donald Trump, who said he had problems with parts of the Republican Party plan, but added that it was “almost irrelevant” given that Democrats had to accept any final deal.
Democrats have closely followed the $ 3 billion proposal the House passed in May, standing firm to extend the $ 600 federal improvement in unemployment benefits, despite significant objections from the Republican Party, as well as near-misses. $ 1 billion that the bill established for states and localities.
“It’s slow,” Senator John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota and most of the spanking, told CNN. “They’re buried. Right now I think they just want the problem.”
Pelosi and Schumer flatly rejected the idea of a narrow short-term package put forth by the White House, making it clear that a comprehensive package was the only way to go on their side.
“As the nation waits, desperate for comprehensive relief, they leave everything else behind,” Schumer said.
The White House negotiating team, made up of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, has become increasingly pessimistic after three days of closed-door meetings with his Democratic counterparts .
Meadows, asked by CNN what could unlock the current impasse, said flatly: “I don’t know if something does.”
Leaders of Congress in both parties continue to say a deal is necessary, and economic figures released Thursday seem to reinforce that point.
The United States economy contracted at a record annual rate of 32.9% last quarter and weekly unemployment claims rose to 1.43 million amid signs of a slowdown in the recovery.
McConnell called for top Republicans and Democrats on each committee to start negotiations, a structure that was used during negotiations on the first major package of emergency financial aid.
“Republicans have put forth a framework that would be of great benefit to a large number of American families,” said McConnell. “If Democrats ever come to the table, we can bridge our differences and make a law.”
Schumer, who chastised McConnell for staying away from bipartisan talks in person thus far, asked Republicans to understand the gravity of the moment.
“We just need our fellow Republicans to act together, roll up their sleeves, understand the seriousness, depth and breadth of this problem, and negotiate with us seriously,” said the New York Democrat.
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